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| | News » Love must speed up to realize potential |
| Love must speed up to realize potential | |
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 Game Time: Raptors 110, Timberwolves 102Since Valentine's Day is almost upon us, let's take another close-up look at the first big man selected in last June's draft: Kevin Love.NBA roundupThe trading of Vlad Radmanovic for Adam Morrison is all about wishes and hopes. Both teams hope that their new players will be able to knock down their perimeter shots the way they are supposed to — although since the Lakers' triangle is a shooter's offense, Morrison just might get more open looks than will Radmanovic. And both teams wish that the abysmal defense of their new players can either be improved or successfully disguised. One of the earmarks of the celebrated Celtics' defense is their practice of forcing outstanding scorers into help areas — a strategy that is subtler and more effective than outright double-teaming. When an opponent is doubled, the adjunct defenders are moving toward him — and since they are in motion, the extra defenders can usually be avoided by perimeter players with exceptional handles. But in help defense, the ball comes to the defense — which greatly reduces the defensive movement and therefore the ball-handler's escape routes. Think: ?"Come into my web," said the spider to the fly. However, the requirements of help defense call for incredible team-wide coordination and understanding.In their dramatic overtime win in Boston last week, there was one aspect of the Lakers' game plan that was overlooked by many commentators — the positioning of Pau Gasol in the triangle offense. In the Finals, Gasol mostly manned the low-post, but was easily pushed, bumped and shoved a foot or so off of his assigned spot by Kendrick Perkins. In trying to attack Perkins from a traditional back-to-the-basket post-up posture, Gasol was routinely overwhelmed by his opponent's superior strength and mass. Last Thursday, however, Gasol frequently received entry pass at least 10 or 15 feet from the hoop, giving him enough space to immediately turn and face Perkins. Now, Perkins' advantages were minimized, while Gasol's edge in quickness and handling enabled the Lakers' lean center to use a series of serious ball-fakes before either shooting jumpers, driving and hooking, zipping baseline for layups, or driving one way and spinning the other way. This tactic was also successful when Gasol was guarded by Glen Davis. Indeed, the best matchup for Boston would be to sic Kevin Garnett on Gasol. But that would necessitate having either Perkins, Davis or Leon Powe guarding Lamar Odom — which would constitute a huge advantage for the Lakers. It'll be interesting to see how this particular tactic plays out should there be another reprise of a Lakers-Celtics Finals. Now that Bruce Bowen is on his last legs, does anybody in the NBA defend Kobe Bryant any better than Paul Pierce? P.P. has the strength, quickness and willpower to force Kobe to work with all his might to get good looks. (Plus the Celtics' goal of forcing Kobe to help spots has been very successful as of late.) The only mitigation is that because Pierce has to expend so much energy on offense, he's unable to play all-out defense and must therefore pick his spots.Travels with CharleyThis is Part II of my escapades in Cedar Rapids as a visiting CBA coach. For Part I, please click here. On my next trip to Cedar Rapids after the Charley mask promotion, the fans adjacent to the visitors' bench seemed to be more amped up than ever before. As I headed to the locker room for the halftime break, I saw a red-faced, rowdy fan in the row immediately behind the bench holding a cup full of beer in one hand and a Charley mask in the other. He started cursing me in a loud voice, which was fine. As they used to say back in the Bronx: "Yer pays yer money and yer makes yer choice." But then he cocked the cup and initiated a motion that would undoubtedly end in his dousing me with the beer. There was no question whatever that this was his intent. Must-read:- Long: The true tragedy at Daytona
Must-see:- President Obama reacts to A-Rod
- BDSSP: The A-Rod backlash
Top headlines:- Congressman: No A-Rod hearing
Author's Website: http://www.foxsports.com
Added: February 11, 2009 |
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